


Can I Have This Dance

by the_afterlight



Category: High School Musical
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-11
Updated: 2009-12-11
Packaged: 2017-10-04 08:39:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_afterlight/pseuds/the_afterlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan and Chad have a conversation outside the prom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can I Have This Dance

**Author's Note:**

> This, I think, originally wanted to be a scene in a larger fic, but in the end it decided it wanted to stand mostly on its own. It's half "this song got an image stuck in my head" and half reaction to the common trope of "Ryan gets pissed off/jealous/upset when Chad wants to take Taylor to homecoming/prom/random school event #14 instead of him." Which is a trope I love, but I see a lot of it and never other possibilities. ;)
> 
> This was written in less than forty minutes, and stands unbeta'd. If you catch any egregious typos or other spelling or grammatical errors, do tell me and I'll correct them.

The nice thing, Ryan reflected, as he stepped out the side door of the gymnasium, was that living in the desert guaranteed that the evenings would be cool, no matter how blasted hot the day was. That particular night, it was almost too chilly, and he found himself thankful for the extra layers his tuxedo granted him, as much as they'd stifled him inside the gym itself.

The door shut behind him, and all at once everything seemed calmer, quieter, more still. The music was muffled now, faintly coming through the heavy door, barely loud enough to be made out. Ryan ignored it as he let himself fall back against the wall of the school.

"It's harder than I thought it would be," he said, speaking to the night itself. "I wish I could just-"

The door opened beside him. Ryan cut himself off, jumping as the music from inside blasted again -- an upbeat song now, something dancy and jazzy. But it quieted again a moment later as the door shut behind the newcomer. "I thought I saw you come out here," came a familiar voice, and Ryan found himself flushing involuntarily, memories of exactly what he'd heard that voice _say_ coming flooding back as they did every time. "You okay?"

Ryan nodded, smiling, and to his own surprise it was actually mostly genuine. "Yeah, I guess. Just... I expected it to be easier. I mean, I knew going into this that I'd have to watch you dancing with her. I thought I'd be ready to see it."

Chad moved beside Ryan, leaned against the wall, slid down it to sit upon the cool concrete. "You're not jealous, are you?" he asked. "I mean, she knows everything. You know that. It's just... I'm not ready to tell anyone else yet."

"No, no, I get that," Ryan assured him, "and it's not Taylor in particular, or even... Don't take this the wrong way, but it's not even exactly you that's the problem. I understand your reasons for not coming out, and I wouldn't want to force you out until you're ready. It's just that it's hard seeing everyone else get to be so _straight_. Like this whole thing is a celebration of straightness. A bastion of heterosexuality. A performance of heteronormativity. Can you imagine how people would react if we danced together in there? Half the teachers would try to throw us out right there!"

"I think you're underestimating some of them," Chad replied, "but I do see your point." There was a pause; Ryan took the moment to slide down the wall himself, leaning up against his boyfriend. "Is it wrong," Chad continued, "that that kinda makes me want to go in and dance with you, just to see how they react?"

Ryan laughed, picturing people -- picturing _Coach Bolton_ \-- seeing one of the Wildcat basketball stars dancing with That Theatre Boy. "It would almost be worth it," he agreed. "It _would_ be worth it, if it didn't mean risking your scholarship.

"You know, if anything _did_ happen, I'd help you, right? My parents aren't without influence, and you may have noticed that I'm a bit of a momma's boy." Ryan was proud of his relationship with his mother; he wasn't about to deny it. "I know you want to do it on your own, and it's not that I think you can't. Just... if something does happen, you know that I'm here for you."

Chad didn't respond right away, and Ryan wondered, as he had so many times since that baseball game the previous summer, if he'd managed to offend Chad somehow. He knew, even now, that Chad wasn't entirely comfortable with Ryan's easy wealth, and he was never sure when bringing it up would cause conflict. Thankfully, that didn't see to be the case here. "No, I do," Chad said, when he finally spoke. "And it means a lot to me. You know I'd do anything I can for you, too, right?"

Ryan just nodded, and the two lapsed into silence, Ryan's head against Chad's shoulder, Chad's arm around Ryan in return. They watched the sky, picking out the stars.

Someone opened the door, just a bit, and they heard someone kick down the doorstop. "That should help," Martha said. "We need some fresh air in here." The music was loud again, but just for a moment as the DJ ended his set and the band, a group of enterprising students who'd approached Martha to play a few sets, reintroduced themselves. The way the door was open, all the sound came out loud and clear, but Ryan and Chad found themselves hidden behind it, blocked from the view of their classmates inside.

"Hey, everyone," they heard the lead singer say. Ryan still hadn't managed to catch his name. "We're going to play a few more songs for you, and the DJ will take over again for the rest of the night. First, though, we've got a song written by East High's own Kelsi Nielsen. She was kind enough to arrange a couple of her songs for us, and we thought that this one would be great to play tonight."

A slow beat started, and the guitarist picked up the melody. Chad looked down at Ryan for a moment. "... Can I Have This Dance? Really? All of the songs that Kelsi's written for the show, and they choose this?"

"Seems appropriate somehow," Ryan retorted. "Especially given our conversation."

Chad snorted, but nodded. He glanced around. "Y'know, no one can see us out here."

"Chad, I am not having sex with you in the East High parking lot."

Chad mock-punched Ryan's shoulder. "Shut up. That's not _all_ I think about."

"Oh, sex and basketball, then?"

"Well, yeah." Silence again between them for a moment, as they listened to the band. "No, I just mean... No one can see us out here. No one can see if we... Ryan? Do you want to dance?"

Ryan pulled away from Chad, staring at him. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked. "Fever, headache, sore throat?"

"... No, why?"

"Chad, you just volunteered. To dance. With me. But it's mostly the dancing thing that has me worried. As I recall, you were most vehement last summer that you don't dance, and you tried your best to convince me this year, too."

Chad smiled and nodded, his hair flopping a bit. "Well, yeah," he said. "But it's your prom, _our_ prom, too. I think we all deserve a chance to dance with..." He licked his lips, hesitated, and Ryan dared not hope for the words that came next. "... With the person we love."

He'd said it. Chad had said it. Ryan couldn't quite believe his ears. "You mean you...?"

Chad nodded. Ryan swore his heart was going to beat out of his chest. "I love you, Ryan Evans," Chad said, smiling wider and wider. "I know we haven't spoken about what happens after the summer, but no matter what, I want... I want to at least try. I want to say we tried."

If asked at that moment, Ryan would have sworn upon his prized Idina Menzel- and Kristen Chenoweth-autographed Original Broadway Cast Recording of Wicked that he could fly. Certainly he felt as if he could fly away. "Then yes, Chad Danforth, it would be my pleasure to dance with you." He got up, his legs unfolding beneath him with his dancer's grace, and he held out one hand to help Chad to his feet.

  
_It's like catching lightning the chances of finding someone like you  
It's one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do  
And with every step together, we just keep on getting better  
So can I have this dance (can I have this dance)  
Can I have this dance_  
-Can I Have This Dance, from High School Musical 3


End file.
